Ubud, Tegallalang & Jungle Swing
Start from$55 / car
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Land Tour
Coffee Plantation & Luwak Tasting
The stop every tour drags you to, sold honestly for once
- Duration
- 7 hours door to door
- Group
- Private car, up to 5 guests
- Tasting
- 12–15 samples, included
- Commission
- We take none
The trip
What You're Signing Up For
Almost every day tour in Bali stops at a coffee plantation, and almost none of them tell you why: the plantation pays the driver a commission on what you spend. That is the whole business model, and it is why you get hurried through the garden and parked in front of the shop.
We take no commission on this trip. What you get instead is the actual walk: the cacao and vanilla and coffee growing, the roasting over a wood fire, and the tasting flight of a dozen or so coffees and teas, which is genuinely good and genuinely free.
Highlights
Why People Pick This One
- A tasting flight of twelve to fifteen coffees and teas, all included
- Coffee, cacao, vanilla and ginseng growing rather than in a display case
- Roasting over a wood fire, which is where the smell comes from
- A straight answer about luwak coffee and how the civets are kept
- No commission taken by us, so nobody is steering you towards the shop
Full description
The Whole Thing
The tasting is the reason to come. Twelve to fifteen small cups: ginseng coffee, coconut, vanilla, mangosteen tea, lemongrass, rosella, all made on site and all included. It takes about forty minutes if you do it properly.
Then there is luwak. Kopi luwak is coffee from cherries eaten and passed by an Asian palm civet, and it sells for absurd money on the strength of a story. It is the only cup on the menu you pay for, usually around five dollars.
Here is the part the plantations do not lead with: at most places the civets are caged. A caged nocturnal animal on a concrete floor being fed only coffee cherries is not a wild animal choosing the best fruit, which is the entire premise of the coffee. We will tell you which plantations we use and why, and if you would rather skip the luwak and just do the tasting, nobody will push you.
The gardens sit above Tegallalang, so this pairs with the rice terraces, the jungle swing or Tirta Empul in the same day at no extra charge for the car.
Itinerary
The Trip, Stop By Stop
Timings are typical, not fixed. Your guide reshapes the day around your pace and the conditions.
-
Hotel pickup
Canggu, Seminyak, Kuta, Jimbaran, Sanur, Ubud
A morning start; the gardens are cooler and the roasting happens early.
Included -
Drive to the plantation
About two hours from the south coast, up through Ubud and Tegallalang.
-
The garden walk
Coffee, cacao, vanilla, ginseng and cloves, all growing, with someone explaining them.
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Roasting
Green beans turned by hand over a wood fire, which takes about half an hour.
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The tasting
Twelve to fifteen small cups on a bench with a view over the valley. Included.
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Luwak, if you want it
The one cup that costs money, and the one we will talk you through first.
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Onward or home
Tegallalang, the swing or Tirta Empul are all close, at no extra charge for the car.
Included
Trip stop
Pickup area
Pickup is from your own accommodation inside these areas. Route is indicative, not the exact road taken.
The price covers
What's Included, And What Isn't
Included
- Hotel pickup and drop-off across South Bali, Ubud and Canggu
- Private air-conditioned car with English-speaking driver
- Fuel, parking, tolls and the driver's day
- The guided garden walk and the roasting demonstration
- A second stop nearby if you want one, with no extra charge for the car
- An honest account of how the civets at that plantation are kept
Not included
- The luwak coffee itself, which is the only cup that is charged for
- Anything you buy in the plantation shop
- Lunch, which we can stop for on the way home
- Entrance tickets, parking charges and anything else paid on site
Before you book
Who This Trip Isn’t For
We would rather talk you out of the wrong trip than take your money for it. If any of these apply, message us and we’ll suggest something that fits better.
Anyone uneasy about caged animals
Most luwak operations cage their civets. We will tell you the truth about the one we visit, and you may still not want to go.
Anyone expecting a big estate
These are smallholdings with a demonstration garden, not a plantation the size of a farm. The tasting is the substance.
Anyone who does not drink coffee
There are teas in the flight and the walk is pleasant, but the whole day is built around a drink you do not want.
Come prepared
What To Bring
Cash in small notes
The luwak cup and anything from the shop are cash, and the plantations rarely have change for a big note.
Mosquito repellent
You are standing still in a shaded garden for half an hour, which is exactly where they are.
A hat
The tasting bench is usually in the open, looking down the valley, with the sun straight on it.
Room in your bag
The ground coffee and the cocoa are genuinely good and much cheaper here than at the airport.
On the trip
What It Looks Like
Tap a photo to enlarge
Before you book
Questions About This Trip
Anything not covered here? Message us. We'd rather answer first than have you book the wrong trip.
Is the tasting really free?
Yes. Twelve to fifteen cups, no charge, no obligation to buy. Only the luwak cup costs money, usually about five dollars.
Is luwak coffee worth it?
As a cup of coffee, honestly, no. It is smooth and low in acid and not as good as a well-made cup of the ordinary arabica in the same flight. As a thing to have tried once, that is your call.
How are the civets kept?
At most Bali plantations, in cages. Genuinely wild-collected luwak exists but is rare and expensive. We will tell you what the plantation we use does before you decide.
Do you take commission?
No. That is unusual for this stop and it is the reason we sell it as a trip rather than sneaking it into someone else's itinerary.
Can we combine it with the rice terraces?
Yes, Tegallalang is fifteen minutes away and most guests do both. No extra charge for the car.
Pairs well with
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View ItineraryReady When You Are
Tell us your dates and how many of you there are. We'll confirm availability, pickup time and the total, usually within the hour.